"Skype-to-Skype calls are free like they are today, but if you want to call landlines and mobiles, you need the minutes," senior product manager Terry Farrell explained in a behind-closed-doors briefing attended by Digital Spy.

"So for six months we're going to put 100 minutes in everyone's account."

Farrell added that minutes will stack and remain in accounts if they aren't used.

Skype on Xbox One will also be the first to introduce group calling on a television app, where up to three other users can communicate at once.

Elsewhere, Kinect will pan and zoom automatically on the user as they move around the room, and will support Snap functionality so conversations can take place alongside other apps or games.